Domination in Tokyo
by ringosatou17
Summary: They meet again in a race. And they match wits again. Takahashi Ryosuke may have the domination of Tokyo in his head, but one thing's for sure - she has the domination of the White Comet's heart in hers. HIATUS.
1. Act 1: Challenge to Tokyo!

The cold dark eyes stared intently at the screen of the laptop computer perched on the hardwood desk in the light, spacey bedroom. Takahashi Ryosuke was concentrating. Hard.

And the interruption from his brother who suddenly barged into the room is, obviously, not so welcome. But he reasoned out to himself that such interruptions must be endured for everybody's quiet and calm. He paused his rapid typing and wheeled the computer chair around to face his brother. "What is it this time, Keisuke?" he asked mildly, taking a careful sip of the coffee from the mug beside the computer.

"I want to ask you something, aniki," Keisuke said tentatively, gauging Ryosuke's expression. He looked tired, but nothing surprising about the fact, since just last week they finished the Ibaraki battle just last month. He himself still felt the fatigue of racing the memorable olive-green GT-R and its middle-aged yet enigmatic owner.

"What is it? Ask away," Ryosuke said, frowning slightly.

"Er, I just want to clarify that we're going to race in Kanagawa next. Is that right?" Keisuke asked, marveling at the destination already. "Wow, it's-I dunno, a little overwhelming, I guess."

Ryosuke smiled this time. "Yes, that's right, but before we go to Kanagawa, I've challenged a team from Tokyo Prefecture. I think it'll be interesting for you to race in the Tokyo roads before moving on to the more serious aspect of racing that is Kanagawa."

"Are you sure? Tokyo?" Keisuke scowled. "I think that's a little out-of-bounds for our original itinerary for Project D. I mean, Tokyo's great, for a city, but I doubt it if someone there does serious touge battles. And it's the first time I've heard that you set out to challenge someone instead of letting them challenge us one by one."

"Well, it's pretty unusual, I admit myself, but this team is much too passive to challenge someone out of their territory and I think the experience of racing them will go a long way for you. And Keisuke, as long as there are mountains and good roads to go with them in a prefecture, there'll be teams who'll try out the highs and lows of touge racing." Ryosuke enjoyed talking like this to his brother. It saved him from relying in evasive sleep to stave off his headaches. "And also the challengers' natures are so interesting that I'd like to accept their challenge."

"Why?" Keisuke asked curiously. "What d'you mean?" He felt curiosity pooling in his stomach. Or was it just a feeling from eating too much pickles for lunch? He couldn't tell which option exactly suited the sensation, but he was genuinely interested.

"Shall I tell you already?" Ryosuke teased, with a shadow of a grin. "It'll spoil all the fun."

"Come on, aniki!" Keisuke whined, his eyes silently begging for the answer.

"It'll be unfair for the others," Ryosuke said in subtlely cajoling tones.

"Duh," Keisuke grumbled. "Let's see, then. When're battles?"

"Next week," was the reply. Keisuke was astounded, but manfully kept his astonishment carefully away as his brother spoke. "Their strategist asked for this battle to take place as soon as possible, and I couldn't say no to her persistent pleading."

"Err-her, you say?" Keisuke repeated carefully to make sure he heard correctly. "Their strategist is a girl?"

"Yes, and not an ordinary girl either. She has been blessed with the gift of understanding the mechanics of cars. I, personally, take my hat off to her. And if I may add, she has a fierce passion for the Mazda, like I do," Ryosuke noted rather drily.

Keisuke noted the tone of his brother, wondering if "she" is a kind of ex-girlfriend of Ryosuke's. 'I_ mean, they had three things in common already-they are both stategists, mechanics, and Mazda worshippers. Although there's something unusual in their similarity also,_' he thought.

As Keisuke stood there lost in his own mind, however, Ryosuke rotated his chair around and resumed his typing. Then, one hand on the touchpad, he hit the "Send" button on the screen.  
He had sent the challenge.

-oooOOOooo-

Fujiwara Takumi yawned as he stepped out in the humid and slightly hot air. The warm season was thankfully passing-Takumi wasn't really crazy for the warmth of summer, since he felt that he'll get a lot of whinings from Itsuki about going to the beach if the warm weather kept up.

The thought reminded him abruptly of Mogi. What was she doing right now in Tokyo? Is she studying well in the university? He had so many questions about her that he almost wished that he had the time to visit Tokyo and drop in to say hello, and perhaps exchange news. Takumi had never been that verbal to begin with, but this time he wished he had even told her how much he'd missed her... how much...

The telephone rang shrilly in the living room of the Fujiwaras. Scowling and wondering who'll call at this time of the day-it was barely eight in the morning-he stomped inside and took the offending phone out of its cradle.

"Moshi-moshi, Fujiwara Tofu Shop."

A smooth, deep voice answered at the other end, saying in a deliberate tone, "Moshi-moshi, may I speak with Fujiwara Takumi, please?"

"Erm, this is Takumi speaking," the curious Takumi replied. "Who is this?"

"This is Ryosuke speaking," the voice at the other end answered. Takumi could almost hear the smile in his mentor's voice as he waited nervously. "We have a battle next week. I want to brief you a bit sooner than this, but I was a little busy studying for an exam the past two days. It's just really urgent back then. Gomen nasai."

"No, that's okay really, Ryosuke-san," Takumi answered. "It didn't matter the least bit, honest."

"Nonetheless, it's rude on my part, I should say, even if it's alright with you." Ryosuke paused for a little while. Takumi didn't answer, however, since he can feel that Ryosuke was going to say something more. He could hear Ryosuke's steady breathing on the other side of the line, apparently weighing the words the latter was going to say.

"The next race is going to be in Tokyo Prefecture. I can't say exactly where, but I guess you'll have to prepare for this well. It was a little sidetracker for our original plans for Kanagawa, but I guess it wouldn't hurt, to have an enjoyable race before the stark seriousness of the challenge in Kanagawa, right, Fujiwara?" Takumi's eyes widened upon hearing the location of the battle, and because of his utter amazement he blurted out-

"Tokyo? For-for real?"

"Hai." Ryosuke seemed amused at his downhill ace's reaction to the news. "Do you know someone there, perhaps?"

"Er-yeah, I do know someone there," replied Takumi, in a rather nervous voice. He had never before needed to tell someone in Project D anything about his personal life ever. Especially about the Mogi part. And if given a choice, he'd rather tell anyone in D-maybe he'd even consider Keisuke-as long as Takahashi Ryosuke won't hear. "But she's-erm-"

"Well, I'll not bother you anymore by lengthening our conversation. If you have acquaintances in Tokyo, that's fine, although I'd like you first to focus on the race. This group is no joke when it comes to the downhill. It's good to say that they don't usually hold pinkslip races, though. It's a bit popular on the Wangan, but I guess touge and hot spot racers are never on good terms there." Ryosuke seemed to notice his initial hesitation, but thankfully for Takumi, Ryosuke seemed to understand his hesitation about the topic and let the matter slide. "I'll be keeping in touch with your training, Fujiwara. I tell you this thing at least-Tokyo racers absolutely hate to lose. All racers hate to lose, of course-but they especially take racing very seriously. I suggest you keep your head down during our stay there and try not to aggravate someone, just in case. They have the unfortunate tendency to settle disputes with battles."

"Hai, Ryosuke-san," Takumi said, absorbing every word carefully. "Er-can I just ask what's a pinkslip race?"

"Well, I think I'll explain it better once we actually enter Tokyo Prefecture and meet face to face. I shall discuss other matters further with you then. For now, though, I will task Fumihiro to supervise your tuning along with Matsumoto." Ryosuke paused, then, as if deciding that that was all he wanted to say over the phone, he continued, "Sayonara, Fujiwara. I'm hanging up." Then a beep, and the phone sounds that are heard usually when nobody's on the line emanated from the receiver, a cue for Takumi to place the receiver back to the cradle on the wall.

"Tokyo, huh?" Takumi muttered, staring at the phone in utter disbelief. "What a strange coincidence. Or was I dreaming again?"

-oooOOOooo-

Over at Tokyo, the elegant blackness of a sleek Mazda MX-5 slips in a tight street and winds its way through occasional night traffic. Thankfully, traffic is a little mild at this time of the night, although it might prove irritating once in Shibuya (particularly in Dogenzaka) and this driver seemed impatient already at this pace as the car pushes its speed further and further still.

Let's try to see the identity of this Mazda driver. Inside behind the wheel, to our surprise, a beautiful dark-eyed girl is tensing her body, her slim white hands gripping the steering wheel too tightly for comfort. Every time she fails to beat the red light, she swears loudly and looks at her watch.

Let's see the time on her watch. By the brilliant lights of the buildings around, we see strapped around her milk-white wrist a delicate Philip Stein watch reading a little past eight o'clock. Her eyes narrow in worry as she sees the time.

"Izumi must be sticking pins into a voodoo doll shaped like me by now," she says loudly to nobody in particular. "Aww, this is totally annoying..."

She glares at the red light, willing it to turn green. She taps the accelerator tersely, causing the car to rumble in tension as it acknowledged the handbrake's hindrance to freedom.

"Come ON!" she screams in desperation.

-oooOOOooo-

Mount Akina's graceful shadowy form was etched against the dark sky as the moon watched it with silvery eyes. The whisper of the wind echoed within the trees as it swept past, leaving a trail of loneliness in its wake. Takumi, as he drove on the mountain's empty roads, felt something close to loss at that moment as he felt the wind buffeting the Hachi-Roku.

He and the Hachi-Roku never felt more alive as they traipsed the well-worn roads of their home course, well aware that each next hard battle is only an introduction to another next battle that is even harder than before. It made Takumi's heart pound loudly as he recalled the location of the next battle. 'Mogi is there...' he thought with a happy sigh at the idea of seeing her face again. It had been too long already...

The Hachi-Roku hummed with a steady determination as it synched its movements to the thoughts of its grinning driver.

-oooOOOooo-

"I got a challenge."

The lovely dark-eyed girl that we saw driving the black Mazda MX-5 earlier was now in a bar in downtown Tokyo, sipping a white lady and looking totally bored.

"Really?" Her friend, a slim brunette with a red streak down her straight brown hair smirked, her scarlet lips a ribbon against white porcelain skin as she toyed with a glass of margarita. "So the boys from Tokyo really wouldn't tire of playing with us, huh?"

"Well, if the threat's from Tokyo, it'll never come. The teams here are all afraid of us to even consider any forthcoming challenge from them." The dark-eyed girl scowled. "Actually, it's from Gunma."

"Wow, are we that famous? I thought we're just homebodies here in Tokyo, but some team coming from that far to challenge us must be something." The brunette sipped her drink and smiled. "So you accepted, Kazumi?"

"Do you even have to ask, Izumi?" the dark-eyed girl, Kazumi, sniped. "I had to."

She then downed her cocktail in a gulp.

The other, Izumi, watched her shrewdly.

"That's not very ladylike, Kazumi," she observed.

"Who cares?" Kazumi muttered. "I don't give a damn for what people think-especially men. They all look stuck-up outside, but inside they only want one thing from women. Submission, that is." She thumped the table for emphasis.

"Is something the matter?" Izumi said, frowning at her friend.

"The next challenging team's leader and strategist is the matter. He's a total butthead." Kazumi was shredding words like a cheese grater. "He returns after almost five years to pester me again. I so hate him-like this-!" And she gestured threateningly into the air.

"I've never seen you like this before, ever," Izumi said sympathetically. "Is he like your ex or something?"

"We-ell, not really," Kazumi muttered glumly, ordering another drink from the bartender, this time a non-alcoholic shirley temple because she remembered that she had to drive later. "He's just a sort of-high school schoolmate. I never forgave him for always besting me at almost everything. I totally hate his guts, his brains, and ESPECIALLY his looks. It's so unfair for me."

"Oh, so you have a crush on him then, but on the other hand he always beats you at stuff," Izumi said calmly, glancing at Kazumi to make sure. Kazumi nodded mournfully.

"And now he shows up after five years and challenges you at something again that coincidentally, both of you do?" Izumi frowned. "Is that even possible out of fictitious love stories?"

"I dunno," Kazumi said miserably, shoulders sagging.

"Wait, didn't you say that you can beat him at 'almost' anything?What's the thing that he can't beat you at?" Izumi asked humorously.

"Seeing who spits plum pits the farthest," Kazumi replied with a very straight face.

"Ew," Izumi remarked. "What's the next team's name, by the way? And their leader's?"

"Project D is our next challenger," was the reply. "And the guy's name is... Takahashi Ryosuke."

-oooOOOooo-

At approximately the same time when those two girls were talking about him, Ryosuke was out on the verandah of their house, watching the moon's silver luminosity washing the tops of the trees and the houses. It was a full moon tonight, one of the first true full moons that he had ever seen for a long time already.

"It looks like a beacon for something," he mused aloud to himself, staring at the unearthly beauty of the queen of the night. "I hope it tells me that victory is coming."

He smiled ever so slightly, his eyes momentarily breaking their everlasting expressionless state to sink in a meditative calm.

-oooOOOooo-

The next morning rose at Akagi with every ounce of energy. Takahashi Keisuke's eyes were forced open by the sunlight hitting his eyelids.

"Ah, c'mon! Can't a man sleep soundly without this interruption!" he grumbled, managing to sit up on his bed and messing his already messed-up hair, effortlessly making a charming picture in bed.

Three knocks sounded like blasts on the heavy wooden door of his bedroom. It usually told the younger Takahashi three things, one for each knock: one, that his aniki was awake; two, that breakfast will soon be ready; and three, that he must get up or he'll really get it. Nothing gets Keisuke out of bed like the thought of what his brother had in store for his sorry butt if he failed to abide by his brother's "three knocks" rule, as he liked to call it.

He leaped out of bed immediately and started dressing in his usual jeans and shirt, whose sleeves he rolled to elbow length for a more casual look. This time he opted for a lighter color, the weather being a little warmer than usual this morning. Then he slipped his feet into white loafers.

"Time to rock the house," he muttered to himself.

-oooOOOooo-

As Keisuke was still just beginning to slip on his clothes, though, Ryosuke was just finishing up his cooking, only pausing in his work to go up and knock at his brother's door. He transferred the eggs from the pan with machine-like accuracy onto the platter, and followed it with the bacon. On a separate dish he placed the pieces of toast, then carefully maneuvered everything into the adjoining dining room and finally to the table.

He stripped off the apron and flung it on the hook that hung behind the dining room doors, his expression a little strained, even for him. He usually enjoyed cooking for his brother and himself, a bizarre request he asked his parents to indulge him in despite of the housekeeper already taking care of everything. Cooking usually took his mind off problems because focusing on the procedures takes half of his concentration and leaves the rest of his mind blank and fresher afterwards as a result.

This morning, however, he found it strangely hard to concentrate on anything but the immediate challenge that loomed in front of Project D. He moved slowly and halfheartedly in the kitchen as he prepared breakfast. Not that he considered this battle as drastically more difficult from all other battles that they've already had (Ryosuke wasn't a fool to make Project D bite off more than it can chew), but because of a subtle hint in Kaga Kazumi's acceptance reply to his challenge: namely, that she'd like to race him in Tokyo for a challenge, not between his team and hers, but between himself and her. Between old rivals for precision and accuracy.

The thought of gripping the steering wheel tightly because of the sheer pressure and adrenaline that only a race can provide was so tempting, so enticing, that he almost lost his head fantasizing about the memories he had of his skin being touched by silky winds as he drove through Mount Akagi with windows rolled down to take in the breeze. If he was asked at that same moment what sensation truly aroused him as a man, he'd immediately reply that the pleasure of racing against a worthy opponent aroused him more than any woman can. Not that he was speaking in literal words, of course.

He sighed as he sat down, ate, and decided to not wait any longer for Keisuke. A familiar tingly sensation pervaded his soul. The touge was calling for him.

Finishing the rest of the only toast he had eaten for breakfast, he threw down his table napkin, grabbed his keys that were lying on the mantelpiece, and almost flew out the door in his haste to quench his overwhelming lust for speed that was craving to be satisfied.

-oooOOOooo-

Keisuke heard the door slam with a feeling of surprise as he made his way downstairs and heard the FC's familiar whirring of rotary power as it cranked up, as battle-ready as ever. The FC usually mirrored his brother's moods, and hearing the car's hum explained it immediately.

He grinned, widely. "He can say all he wants about the must of his being a doctor, but he can never really suppress his love for the rush of racing. It's like a drug addiction with no cure."

Finding himself without anyone to breakfast with, he proceeded to eat his meal alone and think of the upcoming battle in Tokyo.

-oooOOOooo-

Takumi was taking the Hachi-Roku for a morning spin to Takasaki to see Fumihiro Hiroshi, Ryosuke's right-hand man, and his mechanic, Matsumoto Shuichi. He eventually saw the pair in Matsumoto's workshop-slash-garage, looking at some data in a computer.

He decided to walk in by himself since they looked busy, but fortunately Fumihiro looked up at the sound of the Hachi-Roku's engine and spotted Takumi. He met Takumi at the entrance with a handshake and a smile, asked him how is he doing, and led him inside the workshop to see Matsumoto.

"Good, you're here already, Fujiwara, so let's get this started and running," Matsumoto said as he shook Takumi's hand warmly. "Ryosuke-san told me that this next team's good on the downhill, so you'd better prepare yourself. You'll handle the larger share of the pressure."

"I guess so, Ryosuke-san told me something like that on the phone." Takumi remembered the call Ryosuke made the other day. "What is the team's name, by the way? He never mentioned anything about it."

"It's 'Tokyo N. S.,' or something along that line. It means Tokyo no Shihai for short. I think they named their team that way since they particularly focus on Tokyo Prefecture rather than fix their sights on to higher goals like us. They're rather introverted on that line, but every challenger that came to Tokyo had their butts kicked and sent away, so they've had a bit of experience. I guess Ryosuke thought it'll be interesting to race them before moving to Team 246. Maybe he thinks Tokyo N. S. could give us some pointers."

"Tokyo N. S., huh?" Takumi drew his brows together in silent thought but was ultimately beaten. "I guess we have to start our tuning, then. Did Ryosuke-san tell you any specific modifications, Matsumoto-san?"

"What Ryosuke-san told me exactly was, 'Trust in Fujiwara's instincts. Whatever he tells you to modify, modify it without question.' So I guess he'll let you do it your own way, Fujiwara." Matsumoto smiled as he said this, because the famous Hachi-Roku driver in front of him, the Eight-Six of Akina, was astounded at the news of making him modify his own car, his brown eyes widening.

"I-I'm not sure if I can," Takumi finally stuttered, "but I'll try to meet Ryosuke-san's expectations."

Fumihiro smiled lightheartedly. "That's the spirit. Let's begin!"

-oooOOOooo-

Keisuke and Tomiguchi pored under the great yellow hood of the FD, examining the complex rotary engine. The mechanic straightened up first, wiping his brow.

"How d'you want her to run, Keisuke?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, exactly, but I'll try turning up the horsepower a little bit. I've been feeling a little inadequate in the past battle," Keisuke mused as his lanky frame straightened up also to talk more properly with Tomiguchi. "And I want to show those Tokyo guys what the rotary power really means."

"Let's see if that's a good choice. Let's crank 'er up."

The two men nodded at each other and set to work at modifying the FD into a more potent machine.

-oooOOOooo-

Ryosuke dialled a number in his mobile and hit Call. It rang a few times before the person at the other end finally picked up the phone.

"Moshi-moshi. Fujiwara Tofu Shop." Takumi's father picked up, his voice a little muffled as he put his cigarette between his teeth and searched through his pockets for a lighter.

"Moshi-moshi, Fujiwara-san. This is Takahashi Ryosuke. Leader of Project D."

He detected an uneasy silence at Bunta's end, but at last he answered. "Oh. So you're the Takahashi guy. The one responsible for Takumi's getting into these battles lately."

"Well, if you'll say it in rough terms, I guess that's slightly true, although my assistant Fumihiro is the real one who sets up appointments with other teams. But of course he never strikes without my orders." Ryosuke smiled slightly at the old man's reply.

"Oh." Bunta hesitated a bit, then bravely plowed on. "If you want Takumi, he's not here, unfortunately. He's going there in Takasaki."

"That's okay, Fujiwara-san. I actually want to talk to you and that's why I called."

"You want to talk to me?" Bunta grimaced. "And what can a youngster expect an old man to talk to him about?"

Ryosuke sighed softly and said, "I'd like to ask you something that greatly concerns Takumi's future battles. It's about the Hachi-Roku..."

"Mm, yeah. I'm all ears," Bunta said.

Bunta listened to Ryosuke, his brow furrowing slightly at the words he was hearing.

-oooOOOooo-

The day finally came for the Tokyo "expedition," as Nakamura Kenta called it. The three vans were readied and tanked up with gas a day ago because Project D is due to leave early in the morning.

The Project D crew waited in Matsumoto's workshop, their eyes fixed on the flashy yellow of the FD and the battle-toughened white-and-black of the Hachi-Roku that had arrived just moments ago. The two aces had arrived on the scene with Keisuke leading, and are now parked in the garage.

Takumi had gotten out first, his expression a determined one, his eyes a docile brown. Keisuke next, his smooth, slightly arrogant face carefully composed and resembling his brother slightly.

"What happened, Keisuke?" Fumihiro said to the latter, his expression worried. "Why did Ryosuke order us to wait here? Did he tell you?"

"I'm not sure either," was Keisuke's reply. "All he told me was fetch Fujiwara and take him here to wait for him so that we can all leave together. He said that, then left early with the FC. I thought he went here in advance."

"Shoot. Up to now, he never really trusts anybody with information," young Kenta said with emphasis on 'anybody.'

"Well, we already know that my aniki's a sneaky person," Keisuke said, shrugging. "But it still doesn't make sense, what he told us to do. What's he doing to take this long?"

As if in answer to Keisuke's question, a familiar rotary engine whine met their ears, and they looked out on the street in unison to see the gleaming crystal white of Ryosuke's FC skirting the corner of the street smoothly, its tires evidently new and the sound of the rotary engine interlaced with a new sound. And the wide spoiler certainly didn't fail to catch their attention. It certainly broke Ryosuke's stolid resolution to never give off a flashy look, but it was already serving its true purpose. The FC was smooth in every turn, and in corners it would surely counter the instability of drift.

"Is that, a new intercooler?" Keisuke swore softly. "He's not intending to go with that, is he?"

The driver side window rolled down, and Ryosuke stuck his head out, smiling slightly. "I'm sorry if I took so long, but I can't resist to take the FC out for a date on Akagi. It's been so long," he said, his dark eyes lighted up with exhilaration. "And she runs so finely. I can't find any serious fault with the FC, for today at least."

"Maybe that's why you fell in love with that car at first glance," Keisuke said, shaking his head in disbelief at his brother's odd behavior.

Ryosuke smiled. "All right, get ready," he said, his face turning once again into his usual composure. "Let's start!"


	2. Act 2: Enter the Black FC!

**A/N: I was using Google Earth in my iPod Touch and nothing made me as happy to see the famous Five Hairpin curves in real time staring at me near the area of Shibukawa (Akina in the anime, I guess) The actual road was featured in Initial D Street Stage (I had it in my PSP in the past) and it was still in the map! And also the Takahashi brothers' home course as well, near the area of Takasaki...**

**NOTE: I know the 350z didn't come out until the 2000s, but all the same, this is a fanfic.**

**NOTE 2: The convertible FC came with an NA engine, but in Japan there are turbocharged versions available... So I guess this doesn't hurt...**

-oooOOOooo-

The sun was setting low over Tokyo Prefecture as the Project D crew rolled to a stop at an inn somewhere near the territory of Tokyo N. S. The three vans looked hot and dusty from the trip. The Hachi-Roku was calmly accepting the fatigue of the drive, its hood steaming with the effort. The formerly spotless yellow body of the FD was flecked with dust and looked defeated. However, the FC was still energized, its immaculate and impeccable facade still firmly attached on it.

"Oh yes, rest at last," Keisuke groaned out as he stretched his arms gratefully. Takumi and the others agreed silently, each of them glancing around at the change of sights-the tall, lighted buildings, the busy goings-on of the vehicles that are on the roads, and others besides.

Ryosuke calmly conversed with the manager of the inn and managed to get four rooms.

"Fujiwara, Keisuke, you two are going to share a room. Matsumoto and Tomiguchi, and Fumihiro and Kenta are going to share a room, one for each pair." Ryosuke was ticking off names on his fingers, but interrupted himself, his expression bemused, as Keisuke opened his mouth to argue.

"What is it, Keisuke?" he addressed the blond.

"Can't I share a room with you instead?" Keisuke said with great difficulty, his face flushed with embarrassment at the request he was making.

Ryosuke smiled slightly. "Are you perhaps saying that you are awkward with Fujiwara? That's no problem. You've shared a room last time, ne? This time is no different."

"Yeah, but-" Keisuke struggled to say something more expressive but failed miserably. "Isn't it better for us to share a room instead? I mean, we're siblings."

This was the second time Takumi had ever heard Keisuke refer to his family ties with Ryosuke while at an expedition (the first time being the incident when he trashed his FD on the oil, and other than that situation, Keisuke treated Ryosuke more like a leader and less an elder brother while in meetings with D) and was surprised that he had nearly forgotten.

"True enough," Ryosuke said, still smiling, albeit slightly. "Fujiwara, are you okay if you'll sleep alone tonight?"

"Erm, it's just fine, Ryosuke-san. No need to worry." Takumi tried to smile, but it caught slightly.

"All right then," Ryosuke said, still in a bemused manner, as though highly entertained at his aces' facial expressions.

-oooOOOooo-

Nightfall at last. The mountain loomed in front of them like a deep-sea monster rising out of the depths. It was etched sharply across the sky, its threatening figure cutting out the stars.

"So that's the monster we're going to conquer, huh?" Keisuke muttered as he drove the FD onwards to the mountain's direction, the rest of the Project D crew tagging behind. He was tingling all over, his anticipations high as he attacked the now upward slope of the road leading to the monstrous landform. "Let's see if Tokyo N. S. likes its midnight snacks served hot or cold."

-oooOOOooo-

The Tokyo N. S. crew lined up on the side of the road. They were all black in color, and if you look closely at the tinted windshields of those cars, you'll see small and non-assuming stickers with the words "Tokyo no Shihai" on it written in fine Japanese calligraphy.

"Okay, I get it. Kazumi's late again." Izumi, the brunette with the deeply red lips, was saying to the other members of N. S. "She doesn't really learn."

A lovely redheaded young lady sitting at the hood of a black Nissan 350z was giggling. "I've heard of Project D. Their aces are supposed to be really fine examples of eye candy. Especially the downhill ace. I can't wait to see how they really look like."

"Raiha, we're here to defend our home course, not to look for new boyfriends." Izumi looked around at the last two members of the team, including Akira, a blonde with a flashy black Mazda MX-5 like Kazumi's (although of a different generation) and Manaka, another brunette who stood beside a sleek black Mazda RX-7. They both looked bored silly from the waiting, but if it was either for Kazumi or for Project D, Izumi cannot exactly tell.

She caressed the hood of her own car, an elegant Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec that she got from a reckless guy whom she had beaten in a past pink-slip race. Izumi smiled as she remembered the glint in Kazumi's eye as she talked about that Ryosuke guy. She hoped that Takahashi Ryosuke would be quick-footed enough to find his way through Kazumi's crazy drifting style.

-oooOOOooo-

She was 15 then, and he was 16. He was a little older than her since his birthday came three months earlier than hers.

She was crying under a tree planted on the quadrangle of their school. It had been there since she entered middle school. It witnessed a lot of her laughs, tears, and various other petty mischiefs during her whole stay. And she was just adding one more to the list.

She hated it that he always got to beat her at everything. Tests, rankings, and even other miscellaneous things. She can't accept the fact that until he came to her life, she had been always the best, the smartest, the ultimate.

Her father always insulted her with words that never failed to make her feel insignificant whenever he found out that she ranked second to Takahashi Ryosuke. Like last night's incident. The rankings came out for the first semester, and as always, she ran second behind Takahashi Ryosuke. As if it was preordained that she'll get beaten by him in everything.  
Her father did not waste time in cursing and punishing her for that.

"Ingrate! I did not enroll you in that school to get beaten by Takahashi's son, dammit!"

"I-I'm sorry, tou-san! I-"

"Go to your room and stay there! You shall not have any supper tonight! This'll teach you your lesson!"

Kazumi was almost blind with her tears and the pain of the injustice, believing the insults. She cried silently, her pleas going unheard.

She promised to herself that she would beat Takahashi Ryosuke someday. Even if it took her years to accomplish the feat.

"Hey. Kaga Kazumi." The familiar voice suddenly called her attention from her musings. She looked up, and to her shock and extreme anger, she saw him. Takahashi Ryosuke. Her sworn enemy. "What're you doing there?"

"None of your business, Takahashi Ryosuke." She always spat out his whole name when speaking to him, and hadn't failed to do so now. Ryosuke smiled at the mention of his full name.

"I'm sorry for intruding, Kaga-kun," he replied, the honorific referring to her tomboyish ways at school. It never occurred to him that Kazumi was a girl except in times like this, when she was freely crying in plain view. Except that no one was here at all at the time.

"Go 'way," she muttered darkly. "Leave me alone."

"Hey, it's way past five o'clock. Aren't you going home already?" he asked, switching to a more gentler tone. He saw the red eyes, the down turned mouth. And the telltale tear tracks on her cheeks.

"Nope." She turned away. She didn't want to see his sympathizing face, much less speak to him. He was the reason behind all of this. He was the enemy.

"Nevertheless, I don't think anyone can make you cry like that. Did you fight with your boyfriend?" he cajoled her gentler still, using the same coaxing tone that made Keisuke open up to him even the most private problems.

She made a face. "I don't have a boyfriend, moron." She persisted in facing the other way. "I don't want you here. Go away."

"Oh. Then perhaps you fought with your parents." Kazumi didn't answer, so he assumed that he was correct. "It's normal for teens to disagree with their parents, so I guess it'll be alright if you go talk to them about your issues."

"It's your fault why I'm like this, Takahashi Ryosuke. So shut up and stop talking to me like you even care."

"My fault?" Ryosuke scowled and stared at her. "How can it be my fault?"

She didn't answer right away. That's why she was so irritated. Because even though she knew the reason why her father whipped her, it hadn't really mattered to her before if the son of some Takahashi beat her to the first place in anything. She knew that the Takahashi family owned the largest clinic in Takasaki and that it was interfering with her father's clinic that was prospering since the Takahashis built their clinic in the same area, but she never felt before all of this the need to make Ryosuke her rival too. She even had a kind of crush on him ever since she saw his grave, mature face and the quiet grace he displayed while accomplishing everything perfectly. At this very moment, she was doing this just because of her father's expectations. She had to, to make up for not having an older brother. She had to be the best in everything. It was her duty as the eldest and the only child.

To cover up for her confusion, she stood up and shoved him, hard. It made him catch his breath at the strength of this short girl that never failed to impress him with her boyish ways. He watched her calmly, taking in her disheveled hair, her messy uniform, and her black-rimmed glasses. At that moment, he also noticed the uncomfortable air that she carried because of the fact that she was born a girl.

'So that's how it is,' he told himself.

-oooOOOooo-

Mysteriously, a black FC was seen streaking through the roads at a furious rate, the tires screaming in protest as the driver pushed the car at a reckless pace. The FC drifted effortlessly as the driver clutch-kicked at a corner. This can be normal enough, but this particular FC was, unmistakably, a convertible, its top up, but still a convertible. The convertible FC was a rare sight nowadays in Tokyo, but here it was, tearing uphill. It was the first real cruising car Mazda had ever made, the special work inside making it totally fit for leisurely drives in any season.

The turbocharged engine was purring smoothly, much more smoother than the normal NA engine of the convertible version of the FC. Under the hood, the furnishings of the engine insistently belied the fact that it was only for simple travels. It was the ultimate rotary monster.

-oooOOOooo-

The Project D crew finally made it to the meeting place, the aces getting out of their cars first to partake of the mountain air. The vans stopped next, the crew members stepping out one by one on solid ground. The moon shone on calmly, a warm beacon of light amid the gatherings of stars.

Matsumoto and Tomoguchi immediately set to work at assembling the supplies that the aces would need for the night's practice session. Fumihiro went to speak to the enemy team, his genial manner overcoming the awkwardness a bit as he spoke with Izumi.

"Sorry if Kaga-san isn't here yet," Izumi was saying after the greetings. "I was requested to hold your practices for a bit before she arrives. I'm truly sorry for the delay."

"No problem at all," Fumihiro replied, smiling rather nervously as he took in the extreme prettiness of the woman in front of him. "Although it's very unfortunate, of course. But I expect Ryosuke-san will want to talk to Kaga-san before anything else, so I guess he'll be very disappointed to hear that."

"Again, our apologies," Izumi said, bowing deeply and proceeding to go to the side of her crew.

Fumihiro returned at Ryosuke's side to tell him what he had just learned.

"She hasn't changed at all on the matter of her punctuality, I'm afraid," Ryosuke said with a light tone after Fumihiro stopped talking. "I guess we'll have nothing to do but wait for her. It's wasting a bit of our time, but we have no other choice."

"I guess," Fumihiro sighed.

"Oi, aniki," Keisuke sniped suddenly at his brother. "Don't say they're all - girls?"

Ryosuke felt like smiling at his brother's reaction, but kept his face carefully composed. "So?"

"Aniki!" Keisuke grimaced at empty air, his voice conveying nothing but disbelief. "You're unbelievable!"

"What's so unbelievable about me, Keisuke?" Ryosuke said shortly.

"Look. If there is a list for the top ten things sure to distract street racers, women will make it to the top three if not the first place." Keisuke still sounded outraged.

"That's why I challenged them. I know you've a strange attachment to your feelings, otooto, but consider this a test about never underestimating your opponent in any way."

"And I know how difficult you make your tests, aniki." Keisuke made a wry face. "I told you I'm over with Kyoko."

"Well, I didn't say anything about Iwase Kyoko."

"Yeah, right." Keisuke said the words with a heavy sarcasm. "As if I'd need you to tell me things that are too obvious to say."

Ryosuke's only reply was to flash a quick, mysterious smile.

"Anyway, about this strategist of theirs..." Keisuke leaned in closer to his brother, whose smile widened at the sudden change of topic. "How did you know her before?"

Fumihiro grinned. "That's right, Ryosuke. I myself am dying to hear the answer."

Not you alone, was Ryosuke's thought as he saw the rest of Project D turn their heads at the question of his nosy brother. He saw that he had no other choice but to answer.

"Well, I didn't know you'd all be this interested, but I'm afraid that this is a disappointing answer," Ryosuke said. "Kaga Kazumi is a high school batch mate of mine and is the daughter of tou-san's competitor in the medical field in Takasaki. But I happened to know that they moved from Takasaki to Tokyo because of the strain of too much competition from our clinic. I didn't hear from them again, so I was pretty surprised to know that their daughter Kazumi was into street racing as well when Kyoichi mentioned N. S. to me last time we met. He told me that N. S. was a good opponent to race before Team 246, and I agree it'd be a nice change of pace, although I didn't seriously acknowledge his suggestion until after I learned that Kazumi was the leader of the group."

"As if you've seriously considered his suggestions before, eh, aniki?" Keisuke quipped. "Anyway, isn't it almost five years since then? How do you know if she's the right Kaga Kazumi? I guess she doesn't look the same now like then, right?"

Ryosuke smiled slightly before answering Keisuke. "That's right, but I introduced myself first before challenging her. Her reply was, well, characteristically Kazumi."

"Mmm. I see." Keisuke sighed and then looked at the dark road. "Hey. Isn't that an... FC?"

The Project D crew members' heads all turned to the direction of the new engine sound. The black Mazda car belonging to the second generation of the RX-7 was whirring smoothly down the road. It was excruciatingly elegant to Keisuke's eyes, the FC totally straightforward with a no-nonsense look about it. And in addition -

"Wow. That can't be... the convertible FC!" Keisuke gasped, at a loss for words. "That's extremely hard to find nowadays!"

The driver side door opened and a woman, about twenty-three years of age, stepped out. She had straight dark hair, large dark eyes, and porcelain skin. She was wearing a sexy black halter neck minidress that showed off her shapely white legs and her cleavage. The Project D crew watched her, her simple act of closing the car door taking off their eyes even from the sight of the rare FC, speechless and awed at the female apparition. Even modest Takumi can't take his eyes off the newcomer.

Kenta was speechless. "And with hot legs to match her rare car, Keisuke-san."

"Shut up, Kenta," Keisuke said, but his eyes were also glued on the woman's approaching figure.

She turned toward them, her body language sensual and strong at the same time. "Takahashi Ryosuke," she called, her voice slicing through the air without restraint.

Ryosuke stepped forward. "Kaga... Kazumi."

They locked eyes, the connection so mutual that they actually held each other's gazes for a few moments.

-oooOOOooo-

'She changed so much in the past five years,' Ryosuke thought with a twinge of nostalgia.

'He's still stolid, proud and gorgeous,' Kazumi thought, staring at the proud face, her eyes hungrily taking in the handsome dark eyes and the elegant arches of his eyebrows that she fantasized to see again for so long.

Ryosuke finally broke the lengthening silence. "How do you do, Kaga-san? It's been a long time."

"Yeah," Kazumi said slowly, breaking her trance. "I-uh, you look so mature now. So... different. Somehow."

"I suppose that would be the case for both of us, Kaga-san. I guess I look different to you the same way you look different to me."

"Mmm." Kazumi flicked her beautiful eyes to the rest of Project D. "Where are your famous double aces? I must confess that I am rather curious to see their faces. Their famed looks are causing a stir back in the areas you have previously visited."

Ryosuke smiled lightly. "Is that true? I guess it's good in a way, although I hope this'll never get too much in the way of further battles. I would prefer not to have fangirls flocking at them two before they even get out of their cars."

"Chill, Takahashi Ryosuke," Kazumi said, laughing lightheartedly. The sound was so graceful that it sounded almost like music. "Fangirls are the ultimate testimony to a male racer's prowess and skill."

"Are you still calling me by my full name?" Ryosuke said with a reminiscing smile. "It's too long to say in one breath, I'm afraid."

"I don't really mind calling you that, but I guess you're right. So, would Ryo-kun be alright with you?"

"It's not the best, but it's better than 'Takahashi Ryosuke.' We're batch mates in the past after all."

"That's settled then. Ryo-kun." Kazumi playfully smiled at him, baring pearly teeth. "Then just call me Kazumi. It's too formal to call me by my last name. I mean, we're of the same age bracket after all."

Her dark eyes got more captivating because of their cheerful expression. Ryosuke blinked at the thought of falling under their spell.

Keisuke chuckled. "My brother's foiled by a girl for the first time in his life." He grinned at the conversation the two of them were making. It sounded like a flirting ritual to his ears, more so by the way Kazumi unconsciously flicked her eyes back and forth from each of Ryosuke's own eyes. It made the conversation almost sexy. Keisuke could almost feel his brother's nervousness radiating from his skin. He hoped his aniki wouldn't crack from the tension.

Ryosuke bravely pushed the conversation to safer waters. "I guess we can now talk about the terms of tonight's practice session."

"Yes, I agree." Kazumi shifted unnervingly from playful to serious in an instant, her dark eyes rich in expression.

"And by the way, you and your FC look gorgeous in black tonight," Ryosuke remarked, his lips curling slightly.

"Thanks," she replied sarcastically. "I appreciate the compliment. FC boy."

-oooOOOooo-

"Where did you get that stunner, Kazumi?" Izumi asked her, staring at the convertible FC as she walked back from the Project D side of the road. The aces were now trying out the road, and Ryosuke was huddled in a corner with his laptop, examining something. Kazumi didn't try to look at him too much.

"I won it from an arrogant guy at the Wangan." Kazumi stretched her arms out and sat on the black FC's hood, her eyes glittering dryly. "He's new here, I suppose. Or he wouldn't have challenged me in a pink slip. I felt pity for this FC so I raced him and beat his socks and car off him. I should think he'll never consider joining a pink slip again until he's learned his lesson."

"You're so merciless as usual, Kazumi..." Izumi sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, Ryosuke taught me that value at least." Kazumi smiled and slipped a cigarette out of her purse, lighted it with a silver lighter from Izumi, and took a deep drag, the rush of smoking dissipating her jitters.

She listened to the sound of Project D's aces taking off, and smiled. "Tomorrow night's going to be... Interesting. I'll guarantee you that, Izumi."

"I'm sure it'll be," Izumi replied, smiling as well. "I think this'll be one hell of a challenge."

-oooOOOooo-

Ryosuke finished his simulation and closed the laptop. He walked over to the white FC, his heart beating rather fast as he placed his hand along its crystalline whiteness. He was feeling the thrill of the hunt at last.

Above him, the moon smiled incessantly and watched his every move, its expression serene.

If Takahashi Ryosuke knew that this night will be the spark of something new in his life, he would have taken every step necessary to prevent this night from happening. But since he didn't, the moon smiled at him, taking rein of his destiny.


	3. Act 3: Date with Destiny!

The cool night lulled Project D as the crew members settled in their respective rooms. Since the battle is scheduled for tomorrow night, each of them had their thoughts as they tucked themselves snugly in their beds.

-oooOOOooo-

Takumi, alone in his room since Keisuke moved in his brother's room, was sound asleep, his slumber free from the pressure of next night's battle. Let's let him be and move to the next room.

-oooOOOooo-

In Fumihiro and Kenta's room, Kenta was nearing sleep when Fumihiro asked suddenly, "You awake, Kenta?"

Kenta opened his eyes in irritation. "I am now, Fumihiro-san."

"Oh, sorry," Fumihiro apologized with a sheepish grin that Kenta could barely discern in the weak moonlight that streamed through the curtains. "I can't sleep. I'm worried about tomorrow night."

Kenta yawned. "It isn't your job to worry about things, Fumihiro-san," he said sleepily. "Project D has been through so many strong opponents, and how many times did Keisuke-san and Fujiwara prove that we can overcome all obstacles, proved that they concentrate on Ryosuke-san's plans?"

"That's true, but it's Ryosuke that's had me worried." Fumihiro sighed, his forehead creasing a little.

"Huh?" Kenta scratched his head, confused. "When have we ever worried about Ryosuke-san? It's him who's worried about Project D. What's the matter, anyway?"

"Did you see how he looked at Kaga Kazumi earlier?" Fumihiro said, frowning at the memory. "It's like he was... intimidated with her for some unknown reason. It isn't even logical to suggest this but... is it possible that Ryosuke..." He found himself blushing, so he didn't complete the thought. The idea was, all the same, a preposterous one.

A loud snore told him that Kenta wasn't listening at all to his ramblings, so he thankfully let the matter slip. Better let sleeping tigers be, he concluded.

-oooOOOooo-

Over in Matsumoto and Tomoguchi's room, Matsumoto was also wide awake still, his eyes directed towards the ceiling. Ryosuke had requested him to take charge of handling the Hachi-Roku and then modified the FC in secret and on his own, even taking it with Project D to Tokyo. What is happening that they didn't know?

But as usual, Matsumoto trusted Ryosuke. The White Comet may be secretive enough, but he's no fool. Ryosuke knows what he's doing.

Or at least this time around, Matsumoto hoped so.

-oooOOOooo-

Meanwhile in their room, both of the Takahashi brothers are wide awake. The fluorescents all having been extinguished, the only source of illumination was the lamp placed on Ryosuke's bedside. The latter was lying on his stomach on his bed and was typing on his laptop that was perched on the pillow, while Keisuke was lying on his side on the next bed and was facing his brother, watching him through narrowed eyes.

"You look like hell, aniki," he said finally after a while of staring.

"Thanks for that insightful comment," Ryosuke quipped, smiling as he turned his head toward the direction of Keisuke's bed.

"You should sleep, aniki. No kidding, but you must be tired after all that thinking earlier in the evening," Keisuke persisted.

"More so should you," Ryosuke replied. "You're the one that's driving the next day, so get some rest. It'll be a long day for both of you tomorrow night."

"I know that driving is exhausting after that nonstop action for two hours straight in my FD earlier, but I swear, aniki, thinking about many matters at once is more tiring," Keisuke remarked.

Ryosuke actually laughed. "You think so? Well, maybe, but it's also refreshing in a way. It helps my mind exercise."

"Anyway, aniki, what d'you think?"

"About what?"

"About N. S. They all look pretty docile to me. Except that Kazumi girl. I dunno, but she radiates a kind of hostile aura that spooked me a bit. And that's saying something, cause I've taken part in a rather rough life, or at least by your standards my life is as close as to being rough in the past."

Startled by Keisuke's unbosoming, Ryosuke was forced into a laugh again, but this time he managed to do it more quietly. "Well, that's right, but there's no reason to be afraid that you are getting less manly around her, Keisuke. For one, she has that tendency to shock people's expectations in first meetings with her. She's rather a tomboy in the past, but luckily for you, I think she's learned to behave in a more lady-like manner these past years. In the past, she'll just annoy you incessantly even if her reason is as simple as if she just doesn't like your aura. But now, she's just so... different."

"Unlike you. You've changed so little. It's like you're caught in a time warp or something. No, you can't deny the fact, aniki." And Keisuke grinned slyly.

"Maybe," Ryosuke replied, smiling the smallest of smiles at his brother's cheek. "I still suck on pretty much everything that's really worth more in life."

"You know that's not true," Keisuke said, shaking his head with heavy disagreement. "You're the favorite son. That's to say you had everything you'll ever need."

"I don't think we're on the same level of understanding at this point, so I'll just suggest that you get some sleep now." Ryosuke closed the laptop with a loud clicking sound, as if it were emphasizing his orders. Keisuke didn't flinch-he just stared at his brother with dark eyes that are so similar with his brother's ones: long-lashed, and beautifully made, but also different because of the teeny bit of mischief lurking in their depths. Ryosuke's eyes had almost the same features and loveliness, but they had rather more depth, and his expressions are so strictly subdued that the dark eyes looked almost as cold as a stone if not for the fire of genius burning within them that silently commands leadership. Charisma, they say.

"Alright, aniki," Keisuke meekly replied to his stoic older brother, and obediently shut his eyes but kept his mind open still as, with a faint click, Ryosuke extinguished his bedside lamp, finally engulfing the room with an indefinable darkness.

-oooOOOooo-

The next morning, sunlight struck Keisuke's eyelids brightly, waking him immediately. Beside him, his brother was just rising from the next bed and was shaking the last vestiges of sleep from his eyelids.

"Morning," Keisuke hailed him.

"You too," Ryosuke replied, stifling a yawn.

"Let's order breakfast already, aniki," Keisuke said tentatively. "I'm hungry."

"I'll take a shower first, then. You can order some food while you wait." Ryosuke grabbed a towel and headed into the adjoining bathroom, desperately needing a wash-up before his busy day begins.

-oooOOOooo-

Takumi yawned widely and stretched lazily, his eyes sleepily attaching their sights on the merry sunbeams on the wall facing him. He watched them for a few minutes before deciding to take a hot bath, wanting to be alert for the rest of the day to be able to focus more. He prepared the water as he looked forward to another heart-pounding race later when the night finally drapes her shadowy veil over Tokyo.

-oooOOOooo-

Everyone assembled downstairs later in the morning for a quick go-over by Ryosuke.

The Takahashi brothers were as impeccably dressed as if they haven't left Gunma, Keisuke in a comfortable (and rather very noticeable) deep blue sweater, cargo pants and black sneakers, while Ryosuke was in an unassuming white button-down shirt, navy slacks and tan loafers.

Takumi, meanwhile, was dressed in a light green tee shirt, worn jeans, and white sneakers, looking very much like the boy-next-door like he was. Fumihiro smiled while he compared Takumi's quiet appearance to Keisuke's flashy one, quite misleading when both drivers are behind the wheel.

"Fumihiro, take care of my aces for the rest of the day. I'll leave the rest up to you," Ryosuke was saying as they assembled.

Fumihiro was shocked. "What? Why?"

Ryosuke smiled at him. "I made an appointment with Kaga Kazumi last night over the Internet. She's charmingly invited me to have a little discussion with her this morning."

Keisuke sighed. "You're too lucky a bastard to live, aniki. You keep scoring on the girls."

"Maybe it's not counted as 'lucky' if the date's with Kaga Kazumi," Ryosuke fired back quickly. "I should think that she wants to get a chance to assault me by getting me to talk to her alone."

"Fuu~~Get on with your date already and have a life," Keisuke said, smirking.

"Okay. Fumihiro, get the preparations for this night started already," Ryosuke said, after shooting his cheeky brother a little warning look. "I'm going."

"I get it, take care,"Fumihiro replied, smiling.

Keisuke stared open-mouthed after his brother as the latter went out the door and watched the FC glide past. "He is a lucky bastard, Fumi. I guarantee you guys that."

-oooOOOooo-

The wind whistled past as the white FC rushed against its force, its driver scanning the streets for the diner where Kazumi had told him will be their meeting place. He located it easily, since the restaurant's prominence stood out like a colored light amidst white ones. He parked in front of the restaurant, spotting the black convertible FC and placing the white car neatly beside it.

He entered the diner silently, cautiously scanning the tables until he spotted the glowing face of Kaga Kazumi, seated at the far end of the window. She smiled widely at him, then gave him a little wave.

Ryosuke returned her smile, then picked his way over the tiled floor strewn with tables, chairs, and occasionally, bits of trash. When he reached her table, she looked bemused.

"D'you want to grab something to eat before we go on our way?" she asked him courteously, flashing her white teeth at him.

"No, I'm all set," he replied as politely as he could.

"Then - shall we go?" Kazumi said, grabbing his arm in a casual sort of way and leading him back outside in the bright sun.

Once beside their cars, she shot him a challenging look. "Follow me, Ryo-kun," she said. "I'll take you to a place where we can talk out your topic more thoroughly."

"Fine by me," was Ryosuke's curt reply.

The two FCs, one a white comet and one a black streak of fire, finally set out on the road with Kazumi leading, the sun paving the way out for them.

* * *

**A/N: Ahh, vacation at last! I'll be able to update all of my fanfcs more quickly! (I hope...)**


	4. Act 4: Kaga Kazumi, White Day!

"Great. Just great," Keisuke muttered darkly as he maneuvered the FD into a stop by the Project D crew members and vans. "Hey, Kenta, give me more water, will ya?"

"Here, Keisuke-san," Kenta said cheerfully as he handed Keisuke a bottle of water. "Okay for another run?"

"Dunno, I feel like I'm stuffing myself down with dust," Keisuke grumbled as he uncapped the bottle.

"What's that supposed to mean?" a smiling Fumihiro said as he approached the pair.

"Nothing," Keisuke replied with a dark look around. "Fujiwara's still not here?"

"Mm, yeah." Fumihiro crossed his arms. "Well, to speak of lighter matters, what do you think is Kaga Kazumi going to talk about with your brother?"

"You call that a lighter matter? And how are we going to know, seriously..." Keisuke finished up the bottle and threw it back at Kenta, who was caught by surprise, so that the bottle struck him on the forehead.

"That wasn't funny, Keisuke-san," Kenta frowned slightly.

"Well, can't resist," Keisuke said in reply, grinning at the kid.

-oooOOOooo-

The fresh rush of mountain air invigorated Ryosuke's blood as he calmly stepped out of the FC after the twenty-minute journey from the base of the mountain (where N. S. was based) to its peak (or as near to the peak as possible where there is a road...). Beside him, Kazumi got out of the black FC and made her way casually to where he was still standing, as frozen as a stone.

"Hmnn, no kidding, but I swear you look like an adult already," Kazumi said, staring him in the face. Ryosuke fidgeted, getting uncomfortable as she kept her beautiful eyes fixed on his features.

"Will you please stop your staring? It is not a very polite thing to do," he ventured lamely.

Kazumi laughed softly. "When did the normal rules of etiquette apply to us two, I wonder? In the past, we're almost like two dogs mauling at each other. Where did that go?"

"Well, I think it left Gunma and went with you to Tokyo," Ryosuke answered shortly. Kazumi laughed again.

"And you are really the only man who can make me laugh with the most straight-faced statements," she said. "Does that make it a point in your favor? And you're so sassy now…"

"Well, I think it's better that we're now like this, instead of in the past," Ryosuke reflected quietly. "I can't be sure if your coolness is only a facade or something, but I'm glad you're still not launching yourself on me in the past five minutes."

"Ahh, the bliss of adult life," Kazumi muttered darkly to no one in particular.

Ryosuke turned his dark eyes to the latter. "Did you just say something?"

"Nah, I'm just reciting the multiplication table to myself," Kazumi replied sarcastically. "No, really, of course, I said something, but I'd rather not repeat it for you."

"Suit yourself," Ryosuke said, unperturbed, as he leaned back over the wide hood of the FC.

"Hey, I just remembered that I brought some plums with me in the car. Care to join me in spitting them?"

Ryosuke smiled as Kazumi fetched the plums, surprising himself at his own reaction. "I never thought that I'll be asked to join in such an activity like that again in my mid-twenties, but I'll be happy to oblige you."

"Itadakimasu?" Kazumi said gravely, holding up a packet of plums.

Ryosuke nodded and took one gratefully. "Itadakimasu."

-oooOOOooo-

Noon passed, and still no sign of Ryosuke. Keisuke was practically spewing out worry from his nostrils, and nobody else was concerned about his brother's fate while with the "dangerous" Kaga Kazumi with those dark and very beautiful eyes and that cute expression on her petite face. He shook his head. What was he thinking of? That girl was practically as old as his older brother. And almost as smart too.

He looked back over his shoulder at Kenta. Hell, the kid looked almost as bored as him. "Hey, Kenta, got a cigarette?" he yelled at the latter, who started and looked nervously at him.

"Er, fortunately, I have," Kenta replied, drawing out a pack and handing Keisuke one stick. "Here's a lighter too..."

Keisuke lit up and took a deep drag, the rush of smoke in his lungs calming him somewhat. "Hey, Kenta, I think my aniki's up for a challenge tougher than what we're facing right now."

"What are you talking about, Keisuke-san?" Kenta said as he took a smoke with his senpai. "Do you mean that Kaga Kazumi girl?"

"Hell, got it right the first time, Kenta," Keisuke grinned at the latter. "Didn't know you were that quick on picking up on stuff that existed outside of racing."

"Eh, don't compare me with Fujiwara! And, well, it's not just you," Kenta mused. "Even Fumihiro-san was saying that Ryosuke-san was acting oddly during all the time we were in Tokyo and even before that."

"I believe you're right," Keisuke said with a sigh. "I think I've heard this Kaga Kazumi before. But I didn't think we've come face-to-face on any occasion in the past at all. I can't just seem to place her face in my head as familiar or what."

-oooOOOooo-

He remembered that afternoon, since it was a rather cold Valentine's on that day. Ahh, the sweet fourteenth of February.

He was seventeen years old then, and she was sixteen. It was after classes, and Takahashi Ryosuke was staring rather exasperatingly at the embarassed Kaga Kazumi in front of him. The girl was blushing furiously as she held out a shaking box of chocolate in a pair of hands that were almost dancing in embarrassment.

"What is this," Ryosuke looked her up and down before continuing, "Kaga-kun?"

Kazumi paled momentarily, then blushed even brighter. "Um, isn't it obvious? Valentine's Day chocolate! Erm, I made the chocolate myself. Um... Don't worry, I'm not expecting that you'll give me something on White Day, it's just an expression of gratitude for helping me in various things while at campus even though our fathers are basically enemies."

"Ara, is that so..." Ryosuke smiled and reached out, taking the box from Kazumi. "Dōmo arigatō, then." Then he smiled wider ("His smile is all pika-pika..." Kazumi thought dreamily, then mentally slapped herself for the shameless thought). "Although I'd rather think that handmade chocolates like these are more of the honmei-choko type rather than of the giri-choko type. Right?"

"It doesn't matter, honestly!" Kazumi said, mouth dropping and blushing more furiously because of his discovery of the 'mistake.' "I mean, I'm just saying thanks to you... I thought it'd be nicer if I make the chocolate myself. I make sweets very nicely."

"I didn't know that you participate in a girly type of thing like that, since you are so troublesome - almost like a boy, as they say."

"They got me wrong, then. And I would think that you're better than that, listening to such ill talk, Takahashi Ryosuke." Kazumi scowled, her eyes downcast.

"Ahh, sumimasen," Ryosuke said in a meek voice, his dark eyes making their way to the box. "I'll just thank you and then, perhaps I'll eat it at home. Although my brother might grab half of the chocolates for himself, if you don't mind -?"

"Then hide it from him, baka." Kazumi's face was relaxed, and gave him a little playful shove, although it is still stronger than an average girl's puny playful ones, Ryosuke noted drily to himself. "I didn't make those for him anyways. Tell him that I'll smash his arrogant head if he ever gets his greedy mitts on that box."

"Gladly," Ryosuke said with a quick smile. "I'll try to think of a way to hide this, then, if only to prevent you beating my otouto up. And thanks again for the sentiments." He made as if to stand up, but Kazumi's hand shot out and grasped the hem of Ryosuke's beige sweater, stopping his progress.

"Hey - how many girls have given their chocolates to you already?" she asked (or rather, murmured in a very soft voice atypical of Kazumi), pink in the face.

"Are you seriously wanting to know?" Ryosuke smiled at her secretly. "I don't know, but it's a goodly number. If I were you, I won't bother asking, though. I'd have to study a whole lot in our subjects to even consider counting them."

"Yeah, right, so said Takahashi Ryosuke, the boy wonder of Takasaki," Kazumi muttered sardonically.

"I don't appreciate the sarcasm, but I'll still wish you a pleasant goodbye, and another thank you," Ryosuke said, then adding after a pause, "and please remember that we have a Math test tomorrow, since earlier today, you had seemed so out of it the whole day."

"Chikushou, Ryosuke no baka. I - I know that without you reminding me!" she yelled. "Fuu~! Kon chikushou me..." She muttered the last part in a quiet yet snarling voice so that he wouldn't hear.

He raised a hand and smiled briefly before strolling out of her presence. And Kazumi smiled as she saw the beribboned box she gave him carefully clasped in his hand.

"Baka," she muttered happily. "Of course it's honmei-choko. But I'm not about to tell you, right?"

-oooOOOooo-

Ryosuke was interrupted by five slender fingers suddenly lacing themselves underneath his left hand that was resting easily on the FC's glossy paint. "What the -" he said in surprise.

Kazumi took Ryosuke's hand and examined it closely, her eyes narrowed in contemplation. "A very busy hand, I presume," she muttered. "Yet still warm to the touch..."

Ryosuke gently wrenched his hand away from her smooth grasp. "Kaga Kazumi, I accepted your proposal to go here because I have something to discuss with you. And I think this is the time for it."

Kazumi smiled slightly. "I think I know what you're going to talk to me about, but please proceed."

"Well," Ryosuke hesitated, and then stated in a rather nervous voice, "I'll just get something in the car..."

He fetched the object from the FC's interior, and when he finally showed it to Kazumi, she was, understandably, speechless.

"Will you go out for a spin with me tomorrow night?" Ryosuke said with a slight smile, holding out the unique yet signature move of the White Comet of Akagi, the bouquet of delicate, long-stemmed red roses, to her. "It isn't White Day, but today will have to do."

"I think I know what you mean," Kazumi said as she took the bouquet. "Tomorrow, then. Takahashi... Ryosuke. I see you're not a teenager any longer but a man. A pity, but it's better still."


	5. Act 5: The White Comet's Big Gamble!

**Ahhh! This is another chapter done! Keep up the reviews, guys. They're the first things I regularly check on my e-mail. *grin***

**Anyways, I'm a big fan of Akagi's White Comet, but I'll not ramble on him too much. I know that the Hachi-Roku of Akina and the FD Specialist also have their fair share of fans. It's that I favor mysterious dark-haired bishies over other characters...**

**Keep reading! (^_^)**

* * *

"Urusai, Takahashi Ryosuke. I don't need your stupid help anyways."

"Ahh, still the stubborn one, Kaga."

Seventeen-year-old Kaga Kazumi scowled as Takahashi Ryosuke, also seventeen years old, towered over her own height, calm and stoic. It was a warm summer afternoon in Gunma Prefecture, with high school students already goofing around the streets, enjoying the effects of the dismissal bell (which is to say, it's school's out!).

Kazumi was carrying a mound of books and was also slinging a bag on her back. Her forehead creased more when she noticed that Ryosuke was still sticking around.

"Fine, carry these," she snarled, thrusting the books at him and crossing the street as the pedestrian light turned green. Ryosuke smiled as Kazumi stomped before him, and started to look at the books' covers.

"Do you have to study all this lot?" he asked, confused, as he read all the titles. "I think we only had papers to pass in English and Japanese tomorrow, and there's no quiz yet for the others... And, umm, you also take advanced lessons on mechanics?"

"Yeah, so?" Kazumi said aggressively, turning around to look at him squarely in the face. "Got a problem with that? You're not the only studious person in the batch, y'know."

"Ara, no..." Ryosuke fell in step with her as they continued to stroll on the sidewalk. "But I can't just imagine what you'll do with... um... studying how to repair vehicles."

"Well, it's what I want to do after college. I want to be a mechanic in the future." Kazumi smiled as she took the said textbook from Ryosuke and hugged it to her chest.

"Er, won't your father get angry with that?" Ryosuke glanced at the vivacious girl beside him as they continued walking. "I mean, he's a medical man, and to see his only child and daughter becoming involved with mechanics, which is mostly dominated by males... I dunno what'll come of it when he finds out about this."

"As if I give a damn. That's why I want this course, to simply annoy him. And once I go to college, I'll get employed at a part-time job or something and set out on my own. Anything to get away from that old man."

Ryosuke gazed at her serious face, her knitted eyebrows. "But wouldn't it be easier if you'll just take care of your father's medical practice once you graduate from a medical course? I mean -"

"I'm not a papa's child like you, Takahashi Ryosuke. Tch." Kazumi mimed spitting on the ground. Ryosuke chuckled at her gesture, but otherwise kept his silence.

"Moving on from parental issues, what about my chocolates?" Kazumi added offhandedly, in what Ryosuke perceived as an attempt to steer the conversation into lighter waters.

"What chocolates?" Ryosuke asked teasingly, pretending to be confused.

"You're simply impossible, Takahashi Ryosuke. My chocolates! Those that I gave you last Valentine's!" Kazumi sent him a nasty glare, which he returned with a smile. "That's exactly a guy thing, to forget about things girls give you. Or maybe you let your annoying twit of a brother eat all of them after all of my warnings. Ah, kuso." And she cursed with such gusto that left Ryosuke's refined soul amused with the fact that a girl can curse more crisply than him, being a guy.

"No fear, Kaga. I ate them," Ryosuke said hurriedly, walking faster because many passersby were staring at them after Kazumi's little rant. "And I would like to say that I particularly enjoyed the message inside, thank you. I never knew that a Valentine's message is more ineresting to read if added with the rudest words in the Japanese vocabulary. I especially liked it when you called me 'baka', like, a hundred times. I didn't know you liked me that much."

"Urusai, Ryosuke no baka."

Ryosuke actually laughed at the statement. "Gladly, Kaga-kun."

They walked like that in friendly silence, the atmosphere lighter than a feather.

-oooOOOooo-

Ryosuke was still amused by that memory, even as he drove down the mountain after his conversation with Kazumi. Kazumi had always been so different from him, wanting to be a mechanic when she knew her father, who ran their family's clinic, would never approve of his daughter's dream. Kazumi was like that - stubborn, proud, and free. Never to take orders from anyone without a fight.

That was what's really beautiful about her, he decided. That indomitable, fiery spirit.

Cheered up by the thought, he gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and whispered to the roaring engine, "What do you think, FC? She's changed so much. If she's cute before, she's much more along the lines of beautiful now."

-oooOOOooo-

The afternoon was settling peacefully when the FC finally approached the Project D crew's location. Keisuke had been the one to first spot the car as it neared, its peculiar sound making it noticeable right away.

"Oi, aniki," he hollered, raising an arm.

The driver side window slid down and Ryosuke peered at his brother thoughtfully as he maneuvered the FC beside the FD carefully.

"Ne, aniki... Don't say you're somewhere at this mountain hiding while we're testing out this course?" Keisuke muttered darkly, casting suspicious eyes at his elder brother as the other stepped out of the car, his dark windswept hair somewhat telltale.

"And so what if I am, then, Keisuke?" Ryosuke sat on the hood of the FC, his face as cool as ice. Keisuke, however, was quivering.

"You shouldn't've let us alone, aniki! That's insane! I was nearly worrying my head off for you! And you say that to me with a straight face!" Keisuke was not really yelling, but maybe close.

Ryosuke, however, was not even startled. He gave his younger brother a piercing stare that seemed to Takumi as if it was trying to slice Keisuke into two pieces, the other following his example. After a while of this stare-down, Ryosuke's expression softened and he resumed the cool facade.

"Keisuke, I think you're not too much of an idiot to think that you'll not get by without my supervision. That is what I'll expect amateurs and kasu who are seated upon the help of others to say. And thank you for your concern, but you do not need to worry about me. I am considerably your senior of two years which means I can handle myself well enough." Ryosuke placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Don't burden yourself with things that are not much concerned with your race tonight," he added, with the faintest stress possible on the word "_your_."

"I guess, aniki. But still, it's not complete if you're not around. A tree, however fragrant its blossoms and however sweet its fruits are, will never flourish if it's not rooted in the soil." Keisuke said this with a straight face, but Ryosuke smiled at amusement at his words.

"I know, I'll never go off for long next time," he replied, then added, "and make sure never to read philosophical novels again. I think they'll mess with your driving if you're not careful."

"Says Takahashi Ryosuke-sensei," snapped Keisuke with a shot of sarcasm, and Fumihiro actually chuckled.

-oooOOOooo-

The night was progressing with a tinge of coolness in the air, the trees whispering gently as they leaned together in the darkness. The moon, however, was as bright as ever, its shadowy face gazing upon the scene that was playing out below in the galleries on the peak of the mountain.

Kazumi stared out on the scenery of Tokyo, the brilliant lights of the city a blur of many colors. She loved it whenever she gazed at this scene. Almost as if she was flying from her position.

Tonight, shunning her elegant butterfly image, she wore a simple black dress with white flats. She hardly had any make-up on besides a touch of pink on her lips and on her cheeks.

Ryosuke, from a distance, thought that she looked rather like a teenage girl on her way to her first promenade.

"Downhill will be the first match. Then uphill. Fujiwara, I have briefed you already on your opponent. Another FD, but advantageous for you because of the layout of the course. You should have no problem as long as you don't lose your head in the middle of the race. Understand?"

"Hai. I'll do my very best," Takumi said, inclining his head slightly to his mentor. Ryosuke nodded approvingly, his face at its utmost gravity as he watched Takumi return to his vehicle.

Fumihiro sauntered beside him, handing the latter a can of coffee clearly from the vending machines. Ryosuke gratefully accepted the drink, opening it and taking a long draft, comforted by the feeling of something solid in his hand.

"Why so uptight all of a sudden?" Fumihiro asked with a grin.

"I can only imagine." Ryosuke sighed softly and took another sip to help his mind settle.

Fumihiro shook his head at this and wisely left Ryosuke to his own devices to think things more thoroughly.

-oooOOOooo-

The downhill had Takumi's Hachi-Roku and the blonde Akira's NB streaking breast-to-breast by the first section of the wildly twisted course. Almost like Iroha in Irohazaka, the course boasted of an almost endless series of hairpin upon hairpin of curves to the extent that every newcomer to the area bursts out of the finish line dizzy and with tires burning if they were doing drifts.

It was the perfect place to show off the drifting skills of a touge racer. And the perfect location to go for the kill if necessary.

-oooOOOooo-

_And also the perfect course to suddenly go off the cliff if you're anything other than extremely careful_, Izumi pondered, taking a drag at the cigarette between her red lips. She turned to look at Kazumi, who was strangely silent and watching the sea of lights on the city below.

Kaga Kazumi and Takahashi Ryosuke... Izumi sincerely doubted that the two were harboring a secret past relationship (especially with her knowledge of Kazumi's contempt over romantic relationships with men, a contempt she assured Izumi was from her middle school days), but they certainly had a strange connection somewhere.

And Kazumi... Ever since she saw Kazumi drift like crazy in these winding and treacherous road, Izumi respected her racing genius. She was a master in her own right.

"Izumi, we may not win tonight."

The words shocked Izumi slightly, but she kept her composure. She had been expecting the same result after all. She just didn't expect that Kazumi will be the first to voice out this concern.

"Why do you think so?"

Kazumi scoffed. "Takahashi Ryosuke isn't stupid. Once he strikes, that means he already knows what he's doing. He's as ruthless as a snake. Look, Project D is famous for letting enemy crews challenge them one by one, not the other way around. Then, why did he challenge us? It's because he was certain he can squash N. S. flat." Kazumi spat on the ground. "Sneaky bastard. But that's what he thinks. That's what I'll lead him to think. That he can crush me? Nah."

Izumi smiled as she saw the determination in Kazumi's eyes. She knew that look. The look that says that she'll crush Takahashi Ryosuke, truly and definitely.

-oooOOOooo-

Approximately some more time later, Fumihiro got a call from Kenta, who was on the base with Tomiguchi and Keisuke, who was preparing for the uphill. The results were loud and clear -

"Fujiwara's won!"

Fumihiro breathed a sigh of relief, while Ryosuke smiled slightly at the report. "Give the radio to Keisuke. I'll give him his instructions."

"Okay," Kenta replied, and moments later -

"Hai, aniki?"

"Your opponent is the NB, the second generation of the MX-5. Give this your best shot and try not to trip on the hairpins. With that, you're done. Don't mess up on the level of your horsepower or you'll get on the losing side. Ijou da."

"Understood." A click, and static before the silence.

Ryosuke stared at the road, his brow furrowed slightly. His brother's battle is not what concerns him much right now. He knew Keisuke was all right.

He glanced at the FC. If he had taken the modifications on the car this far already, he must give Kazumi a battle with his all.

He constructed a plan, carefully, carefully.

"I'll show you, Kazumi. I will never let you pass me."

The former rivals set about on their intellectual battle, as the uphill battle progressed deep in the night.

-oooOOOooo-

When the FD hit the finish ahead of his opponent, Keisuke was sweating slightly, although relieved all the same. The girl in the NB shook him from time to time as it drifted easily into curves that were varying in degrees of danger.

But he won, after all! He drove to the galleries where his brother and Fumihiro were waiting. Ryosuke was wearing a strange, triumphant look. It was as if he had been the one racing both battles himself.

"That should give Kazumi a taste of what she was expecting," he said, eyes glittering beneath their ever-present calm facade. Keisuke was about to open his mouth to speak, but a warning look from Fumihiro told him to drop it for the moment.

Sometime later, all of Project D was assembled at the mountain's peak with Tokyo N. S.

"Splendid drifting."

The Project D crew turned upon hearing the silky voice that was speaking behind them. Ryosuke already knew who it was.

Kaga Kazumi smiled at the expression on Ryosuke's face. It was, Keisuke swore, the smile that an angel would have before it flew forward to inflict severe misery. In other words, a very ominous smile.

"Ryosuke, you've challenged me a while back, later this morning. And since I'm the one you're challenging impudently, I'll set the conditions of the race. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Yeah, it would," Ryosuke said, ignoring the shocked faces of Project D around him. Since Project D was established, the White Comet in Ryosuke never surfaced, but Keisuke knew that once a racer, always will be.

"The Lone White Comet reappears," he muttered.

"Shall we make it a nice pinkslip one?" Kazumi purred, fingering the key ring of her convertible lovingly.

Ryosuke's dark eyes flashed dangerously. "_Are_ you sure?"

Kazumi tilted her head slightly. "And if I am?"

Ryosuke stared at her. "Then I have no objections. I am not a huge gambler, but tomorrow night, I'll bet the FC's pinkslip and put it on the line, if it pleases you."

"That would be perfect," Kazumi replied. Then, in a low undertone, "Takahashi... Ryosuke."

The moon's dusky face was pensive, its light splashing on the peak of the mountain where a dangerous agreement was made.


End file.
